MG3 Rally Challenge: Round 1
‘MG3 Rally Challenge attracts biggest entry yet for new season opener’
The 2024 Autoshop MG3 Rally Challenge will kick off at this weekend’s (18th February) Grant Construction Stages, which takes place at Knockhill motor racing circuit in Fife.
With five of the identical MG3s lining up to take on the scheduled difficult wintery conditions, fans attending the event at the 1.3-mile-long tarmac circuit are sure to see some exciting action unfold.
The 2024 Autoshop MG3 Rally Challenge calendar will consist of seven rounds in Scotland, England and mid-Wales, and will start with two tarmac Single Venues before heading into the forests for five gravel events.
The aim of the MG3 Challenge is to create a true one-make rally series where budget becomes less of an issue, and the onus is on driving ability but also enjoyment. To match that ethos, the MG3 is a reliable and competitive class car, which can be bought and run within a sensible budget. The cars are built from a 2013-onwards donor car, and feature a standard 1400cc K-series engine and specific Challenge ECU, close ratio gearbox with LSD and coilover dampers. To keep costs as low as possible, there is one control tyre for Tarmac and another for gravel, supplied by Challenge partners MRF Tyres.
- Top seeds this weekend are the Yorkshire crew of Tom Constantine and Tony Walker. They come off the back of a successful 2023 campaign in their MG3, and look forward to trying to carry this momentum forward into 2024.
- Next up, Luke Constantine, the younger brother of Tom, has fairly limited rallying experience but is no stranger to competitive driving having been a very successful Rallycross driver before moving on to stage rallying. He is one to keep an eye on, and will be co-driven by Antony Coates.
- Third seeds are the MG3 Rally Challenge co-founders Niall Cowan Snr and Niall Cowan Jnr. They are probably our most experienced crew, with Snr having rallied for over 40 years, and it’s great to see his enthusiasm for the sport as strong as ever. Rest assured he won’t give the youngsters surrounding him an easy time.
- The first of our graduating Ecosse Junior 1000 competitors Thomas Milne and Neil Jeffrey will be up next. The quiet, young Aberdonian has become a real talent in his very short driving career. One to let his stage times do the talking, we can’t wait to see how this team progress as they enter senior rallying for the first time.
- And rounding out our fantastic five, is Ruan Lowry and Barry Young, who also step up from the Junior series to enter Ruan’s first senior event. They look to build on the experience gained over the last few years and have a real hankering to get onto the Gravel in the future Challenge rounds.
MG3 Rally Challenge Coordinator, Mark McCulloch, said:“The aim of the MG3 Rally Challenge is to appeal to all. As we know rallying, is an expensive sport but we hope to create an affordable, competitive series that everyone can enjoy and compete in equal machinery. We have introduced several controlled parts to make sure the performance of each car is the same, and a control tyre for both the Tarmac and Gravel rounds which will keep the costs down significantly. We are very pleased that Richard, Nadine and Peter Stewart of Autoshop.co.uk have come on board to support the series as headline sponsors, which has been a huge boost to the Challenge for 2024.”
As well as nationwide parts supplier Autoshop.co.uk as headline sponsor, and control tyre supplier MRF, the MG3 Rally Challenge has secured support from 14 other sponsor partners to date. The culmination of these and the generous backing from Autoshop, will allow the Challenge to create a substantial end-of-season prize pot for its competitors.
The MG3 Rally Challenge hopes to attract not just seasoned competitors, but newcomers and crews graduating from Junior Rallying. Challenge specification MG3s are available to hire for either a one-off event or a season-long deal, through Challenge Partners TripleM Rally.
Keep up-to-date on all the latest MG3 developments by visiting www.MG3Rally.co.uk and by following MG3 Rally Challenge on social media or using #MG3Rally.
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Notes:
- Knockhill Results via Scotresults: https://sites.google.com/view/scotresults
- Facebook: MG3 Rally Challenge
- Instagram: @MG3RallyChallenge
- Website: MG3Rally.co.uk
- For more information, please email coordinator@mg3rally.co.uk
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